- £1200.00
Sarawak. (P.O.W. Mail - 15th Punjab Regiment). 1942. India 9 pies green postal stationery card (overprinted 'Prisoner of War Post' for use by relatives of Indian Soldiers captured in Sarawak) written from Banda Dah dated '3rd Aug Aug 42' with framed 'Crown/ DHP/ 9' and hand-stamp 'DHP/ 157' in violet, addressed to '15th Punjab Regt. (Sarawak), British Prisoner of War/ c/o The Japanese Red Cross, Tokyo, Japan', a label has been stuck over the address with 'Simonoseki/ Nippon' date stamp '29/10/43' with framed Japanese censor 'Boruneo Furyo Shuyoshe' (Borneo Prisoner of War Camp) and hand-stamped on card and label 'Inconnu/ Retour' in carmine. Also noted in Japanese "There is no applicable person, hence return.
Note the thumb prints front and back to identify the sender.
Watterson lot 2306, Cavendish state only one of two cards known. (The card has had the label removed from right).
A small group of POW's originally captured in Borneo, the 2nd Battalion of The Punjab Regiment consisted of about 783 men. They had been captured in Dutch Borneo reputedly taken to Java but later ended up in Borneo/ Sarawak. The only known survivors were 45 men in Batu Lintang Camp when the Camp was liberated.
